HomeTrump sparks debate after telling officials to do 'more raking and cleaning' to prevent wildfires

Trump sparks debate after telling officials to do 'more raking and cleaning' to prevent wildfires

November 20, 2018 | by Edduin Carvajal

After the strong wildfires that hit California, President Donald Trump went to Paradise, CA to talk about them. He said that raking and cleaning the floors of the forest could help.

In the interview, Trump said that he hoped this round of wildfires was the last one because “it was a bad one.” He admitted to being committed to cleaning and protecting the forest. Later, Trump said:

“You gotta take care of the floors. You know? The floors of the forest. Very important … I was with the president of Finland, and he said, ‘We have a much different — we're a forest nation.’ He called it a forest nation, and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don't have any problem.”

THE NUMBERS

So far, 79 people have been reported dead, and more than 600 are still missing. While some people considered that what Trump said made sense and that he did it to help, others considered that just saying that “raking and cleaning” was the best alternative was somehow disrespectful to all the victims who died and for those who lost their houses after the fires.

PEOPLE’S REACTION

As soon as POTUS made his statement, several people took to Twitter to make fun of his remarks.

Some of them wondered the kind of “cleaning product” they should use to clean the forest floors. Others were surprised by the fact that the people surrounding Trump kept straight faces during his speech.

FINNISH PEOPLE SHARED THEIR THOUGHTS

Even people from Finland joined the conversation sharing photos of their woods and saying that they finished raking leaves. One of the most striking hashtags that has been shared ever since is “Rake America Great Again,” making fun of Trump’s presidential campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

One of the photos that has attracted more attention shows the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, sitting next to Trump. Someone photoshopped a rake in his hands and the caption, “We offer aid.”

“[Niinistö] called it a forest nation, and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don't have any problem.”

FINNISH DEFENSE RESEARCHER’S THOUGHTS

Veli-Pekka Kivimäki, a Finnish Defense Researcher, also took his time to tweet about Trump’s remarks saying that he wouldn’t compare California and Finland climate-wise. “And besides, 80% of the country is classified as forest land. We don’t exactly manicure all of it.”

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WILDFIRES

Authorities believe that there are several reasons why so many people died during the fires. The speed of the flames, the howling winds, and the drought-desiccated scrub and trees that fueled them.

Nowadays it is still not clear what caused the massive incident. However, two electric companies said they sustained equipment problems close to the origins of the flames when they were first reported, so that is probably how it all began. 

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